I’m cooking a tomato sauce in a pan I’ve had for a few years when it bubbles and splatters on to the kitchen surface. I spray some cleaner from a bottle, dampen a cloth with tap water to wipe it up, and then chop some vegetables on the same bit of counter. All very familiar – only this time, I’m conscious of a hidden ingredient. At every step of this process, invisible so-called “forever chemicals” have potentially been leaching into my food and, soon, my body – from the battered nonstick surface of the pan, the cleaning product and even the tap water.
I only know this because I am about to embark on an experiment to remove forever chemicals from my life. Trouble is, they are everywhere. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are used in food packaging, toiletries, nonstick cookware, carpets and waterproof clothing. There are thousands of them, and they have been found in an almost comical range of products: strawberries, cucumbers, greaseproof paper, disposable coffee cups, food wrap, sandwich bags … The nickname forever chemicals comes from their persistence – they do not easily degrade. “The PFAS used in our everyday products leak into our environment during production, use and disposal, and now contaminate our blood, water, air and food,” says Natasha Kitching, project officer at the environmental charity Fidra.
